text:
The power of insects
I came across a few strong little creatures on my walk last week.
The first ones I noticed were a line of ants carrying loads of white things from one side of the paddock to the other. Maybe they were moving house. I managed to get a clear shot of one of them (hey – ants are small so it wasn't that easy).
A few kilometres on I heard a buzzing sound on the ground and saw two insects fighting or mating, (it's hard to tell the difference in the insect world), or the third thing that could have been happening was the wasp emerging from a host insect (which is a pretty hideous thought!)
Once I had snapped this shot they flew (still joined together) to a branch and sat there for a while doing who-knows-what.
I don't know about you, but I didn't want to be at the pointy end of that red wasp's sting. Many years ago I was stung by something very similar. It managed to sneak beneath my shirt and get me on the stomach. As I was trying to get it off it also stung my fingers. I was very sick (including horrific burning and itching, fevers and nightmares) for about four days. I was also a passenger in a car when it happened and ended up jumping out while we were still moving (slowly – luckily!)
It was a bit scary for me to get this close to the beast, but I felt better once I'd taken the shot and knew I had (almost) overcome my fear of wasps.
Have you ever been so frightened by an insect that you've jumped out of a moving vehicle?
I hope not…
xxx Have a great week! xxx
83 CommentsLeave a Comment
timkeen40 / Apr 11 2016 7:46 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 8:32 am
Where I grew up I remember constantly getting stung on the bottom of my feet by bees (you'd think I would have remembered to put my shoes on!) and it's such a horrible feeling. There are loads of bees where I live now, but they're mainly in the trees (and I still walk around barefooted) 🙂
Photos With Finesse / Apr 11 2016 7:58 am
I pulled my car up onto the grass and leapt out because there was a bee in the back window. My friend, who was in the car at the time, still laughs hysterically (30+ years later) whenever she mentions it. This is why I live in a part of Canada that doesn't have really nasty creatures, certainly nothing like those Aussie buggers. (Yellowjackets make me run screaming – even though I only got my first sting 2 years ago and, apart from a burning fire feeling for about 30 seconds and bruising later in the day, was absolutely fine..) I wouldn't have been photographing that wasp thing unless I was about 500m away and had a lens about 8 feet long. You're a much braver woman than me!! 😀
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 8:43 am
Oh Suzan, I've found a soul-mate-car jumper! It's terrifying when you're trapped in a car with something that wants to sting you, so you know exactly how I feel.
I had to Google Yellowjacket and they look like they would give you a very nasty sting! Stay clear of those xxx
Amy Reese / Apr 11 2016 8:26 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 8:46 am
Cynthia Reyes / Apr 11 2016 8:27 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 8:47 am
Cynthia Reyes / Apr 11 2016 10:09 am
ha ha…
Carrie Rubin / Apr 11 2016 8:53 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 8:56 am
Carrie Rubin / Apr 11 2016 8:59 am
Carol Bryant / Apr 11 2016 9:20 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 3:18 pm
Yikes – that's scary, Carol. I have a friend who had a very similar experience and I was actually thinking of her when I posted this. The man wasn't a date, but he had offered her a lift and it ended up like something out of a horror movie. I'm glad everything turned out okay for you (and my friend) xxx
Pagadan / Apr 11 2016 9:23 am
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 3:19 pm
avwalters / Apr 11 2016 9:37 am
I do alright with most bugs, but I admit that I have a problem with spiders. It is so visceral, that I forget that my responses are so personal and not widespread. Once I was a passenger, driving with my best friend, Sally, as we took the freeway downtown. I looked over at her, and a gigantic spider, anchored to the ceiling of the car, was lowering itself slowly down onto her head.
I remained calm. "Pull over, now."
"What? Here?"
"Yes, here. Now."
Without further question, she pulled off the freeway. I called, "Out, out, out!" as I bailed out of the car. She followed suit, jumping from the driver's seat nearly out into traffic. She ran over to my side of the car, bending and peering at the tires. "What's the problem? Do I have a flat?"
"No, no, no. It's there," I pointed to the spider swinging from the ceiling.
She bent over and peered in. "That? That little bitty spider? You made me pull over for that?
I've never lived it down.
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 3:29 pm
EllaDee / Apr 11 2016 11:36 am
Insects are fascinating but I'm not fond of getting too up close & personal… even though I like to waste… err… spend time watching them. Our tiny black ants have a nasty bite… and attitude… sometimes they seem to seek us out. But are useful as their track runs across the place where anyone unaware tries to enter the G.O.'s workshop is at their mercy. The small wasps are worse, and we move them on at every opportunity but the larger scarier looking but laid back hornets are just part of the deal.
diannegray / Apr 11 2016 3:37 pm
I've had a plague of black ants here since I got back. They are everywhere and have even taken to eating my tea towels if I leave them in the kitchen overnight and my dirty clothes in the clothes basket. They're relentless. I've read that corn meal will make them explode so I'm almost to the point of giving up on my refusal to kill any creature and start spreading it around the place. We've also got paper wasps here that are small but pack a huge punch – I was stung on the finger last week and it felt like a cigarette burn, but that's the only the second time I've been stung by one of those so they're not too aggressive if you leave them alone (I must have walked close to a nest without realising). I'd be staying right away from the G.O.'s workshop 😉
the eternal traveller / Apr 11 2016 9:08 pm
Oh Dianne, I'm cringing at the thought of the wasp stings. How painful. I'm impressed that you could go so close to one again. I can appreciate how bad you felt afterwards. I was bitten twice by a black house spider just before we went to Hawaii and I felt very unwell for about 36 hours afterwards. It wasn't nearly as bad as your experience though.
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:37 am
Some of those house spiders are far more poisonous than people realise. They say huntsmen are okay, but I've been bitten by one and it's awful! Who knows what a black house spider can do to you? Any bite from an insect can cause really horrible symptoms. I feel for you (especially as you were about to go on that beautiful trip!) xxx
the eternal traveller / Apr 13 2016 7:58 pm
diannegray / Apr 15 2016 10:50 am
Roy McCarthy / Apr 11 2016 9:26 pm
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:43 am
ramblingsfromamum / Apr 11 2016 10:55 pm
I wasn't driving, my ex husband was. The moment I saw the huntsman on the inside of the windscreen, a scream, a pull over and I was out on the nature strip. No Mortein handy, sprayed the car madly with Aeroguard. We didn't see where it went. I felt sick the whole time, with my feet on the dashboard (at least it wouldn't have any massive bites) It's a wonder I didn't have therapy. 😯 Love your pics as usual and glad you didn't get stung darling. xxx
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:45 am
anotherday2paradise / Apr 11 2016 10:57 pm
I'm also very wary of anything that bites or stings. I remember our daughter was once stung on her head by a hornet when she was swimming. She shot out of the pool like a bat out of hell and gave us all such a fright. Your last photos is a really amazing shot. That pointy thing looks quite lethal. 😯 Wishing you a great week my friend. xx
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:47 am
Theo Fenraven / Apr 11 2016 10:58 pm
Regarding your fighting/mating creatures: dragonflies do not mate in that fashion, and that brown one is most likely going to eat the red dragonfly. Sometimes the shoe is on the other foot, however. I once observed a large blue darner eating something almost as large in a tree. I tried to get photos of that, but they were too far away. 😦
I once stepped on a beetle in my living room (this was up north, not in south Florida), and a parasite that had been living inside it uncurled and started to move away. I can't tell you how grossed out that made me! After cleaning up the beetle and worm, I washed my hands several times and still felt contaminated.
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:51 am
Is that red one a dragonfly? Wow – I thought it was a hornet, but now that I look at it's wings… hmmm. Interesting 😉
My niece recently discovered one of those parasitic worms and it was absolutely gross! I could imagine how freaked out you would have felt and the washing of the hands would have almost taken off skin. Yikes!!!
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:55 am
nrhatch / Apr 11 2016 11:58 pm
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 10:59 am
Jacqui Murray / Apr 12 2016 12:09 am
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:00 am
Andrea Stephenson / Apr 12 2016 1:41 am
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:01 am
Charissa / Apr 12 2016 5:53 am
Oh my, this looks worse than my wasp enemies I deal with here. Way worse! Good thing those aren't here to sting me. Last time I got stung, I got about 20 stings on my hand and wrist before I managed to run far enough away to get away from the horde I'd accidentally unearthed while weeding. If a red wasp had stung me that many times, I might have died. Dang!
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:04 am
diannegray / Apr 19 2016 11:48 am
pommepal / Apr 12 2016 11:44 am
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:06 am
diannegray / Apr 15 2016 10:49 am
😦 you certainly need more than 2mm. We had 17mm yesterday – better than nothing 😉
restlessjo / Apr 13 2016 1:53 am
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:09 am
donnajeanmcdunn / Apr 13 2016 5:32 am
I've never jumped out, but I almost caused an accident because of a large bug that flew in the open window as we were driving. I was the passenger and it landed in my hair, near my ear and I could hear it buzzing. All I could do was scream, get it out and hysterically try to get away from it by making my boyfriend (husband now), take it out of my hair as he tried to drive down the road.
diannegray / Apr 13 2016 11:13 am
I'm sure some really serious accidents are caused by this, but no one ever knows about it. If you had been driving, who knows how you would have reacted. Having a nasty buzzer caught in your hair would have been absolutely horrible. One of my sisters friends had a wasp fly into her ear while she was driving and the car rolled (she was okay).
Yikes – what an awful experience for you. xxxx
agjorgenson / Apr 13 2016 12:21 pm
diannegray / Apr 15 2016 10:48 am
Britt Skrabanek / Apr 14 2016 2:01 pm
diannegray / Apr 15 2016 10:51 am
Susan A Eames / Apr 15 2016 7:59 am
diannegray / Apr 15 2016 10:52 am
Daphne Shadows / Apr 15 2016 11:58 am
diannegray / Apr 16 2016 3:19 pm
Kate Johnston / Apr 17 2016 9:00 pm
I once was stung quite badly by a wasp when I was camping at the Grand Canyon. It got me on my hand, which swelled so badly my fingers curled like talons – and then it stayed like that for 4 days! It hurt so badly. From then on we refer to that incident as The Day of the Claw!
If I'm caught in a car with a mosquito I'll jump out for sure. I can't stand the ominous, foreboding buzzing as they head toward your ears — driving a car in a sitch like that could be dangerous!!
diannegray / Apr 19 2016 11:47 am
Rustic Recluse / Apr 19 2016 2:59 am
diannegray / Apr 19 2016 11:50 am
roughwighting / Apr 20 2016 9:05 pm
Do insects fight? You've really got me pondering this question. I surely know they mate; that's whey there are so dang many of them!!! I read an article once that insects could easily take over the world at some point. How scary is that? And if they're WASPS we're all in deep trouble. I am also allergic to wasps – not bees, but wasps. If one was coming at me in a car, I'd probably jump out too.
diannegray / Apr 22 2016 10:13 am
Minuscule Moments / Apr 25 2016 9:25 am
Dianne I have jumped from a slow moving car in a carpark, when a huntsman ran down my shoulder, hiding in seat belt compartment. My husband was in big trouble as a day or two before Mr huntsman was found in car and then lost in car on our travels. But my husband lied and told me he had caught him because we were miles from home. I would not have gotten back in if I knew.
Poor little dragonfly, maybe wasp was taken him home to feed the family. Nature can be so cruel. Don't get me started on wasp nests. Im very vigilante we have many different ones here too.
diannegray / Apr 26 2016 8:56 am
harulawordsthatserve / Apr 26 2016 5:04 am
Stunning images Dianne! Insects and I aren't the best of friends, but I've never had such a painful experience as you describe. I now do my best to stay very calm around anything that stings because if I freak out I feel like it's more likely I'll get stung. I actually talk bees/wasps out of the window when I can! No really! I speak out loud, 'no up a bit, now left, yeah nearly, go on, up…there you go!' I realise they're the ones freaking out because they're banging against glass and it's confusing, frightening, maybe painful…hmmm, I've just had a very sweet conversation with a colleague, and my best side is coming out…catch me on another day, and who knows 🙂 H xxx
diannegray / Apr 26 2016 8:58 am
Luanne / Apr 26 2016 3:08 pm
diannegray / Apr 28 2016 7:18 am
jacksjottings / Apr 28 2016 9:28 am
This post shows when one takes the time there is so much to see.
I roamed barefoot in the bush as a child and learned to love the small creatures.
Ants fascinate me it is nice to know you watch them too.
I found then hard to photograph too looking at your photo,
I thought 'Where is Wally?' _/\_
diannegray / Apr 30 2016 7:54 am
jacksjottings / May 1 2016 3:22 pm
A good few of my friends came via Pauline. I jokingly say "It is good having friends even if they are other peoples." 🙂 _/\_
frederick anderson / Apr 28 2016 5:51 pm
diannegray / Apr 30 2016 7:58 am
beeblu / Jun 18 2016 11:48 am
Great photos! Insects fascinate me, too. And microbugs. I'm currently reading a non-fiction book called The Hidden Side of Nature – very interesting.
Nasty experience with the stinging bug – 'orrible. I've had a Huntsman jumping on me while I was driving – that was a bit scary, but it didn't bite me. Horrible to think of ourselves as prey, isn't it? Ewww.
diannegray / Jun 19 2016 8:13 am
closeupcreatures / Jul 30 2016 3:48 am
diannegray / Jul 30 2016 8:04 am


text:
Lawmakers face a challenge in reforming complex tax code
"Colleagues," said the June 27 letter to 98 U.S. senators, "now it is your turn." The letter's authors are Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the chairman and ranking Republican, respectively, on the tax-writing Finance Committee. From their combined 71 years on Capitol Hill they know that their colleagues will tiptoe gingerly, if at all, onto the hazardous terrain of tax reform.
Together with Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., of the House Ways and Means Committee, Baucus and Hatch propose a "blank slate" approach, erasing all deductions and credits — currently worth more than $1 trillion a year — and requiring legislators to justify reviving them. Hence the Baucus-Hatch letter, in response to which almost 70 senators sent more than 1,000 pages of suggestions. Although some often were short on specificity, the submissions were given encrypted identification numbers and locked in a safe, as befits dangerous documents.
Every complexity in the 4 million-word tax code was created at the behest of a muscular interest group that tenaciously defends it. Which is why tax simplification would be political reform: Writing lucrative wrinkles into the code is one of the primary ways the political class confers favors.
Furthermore, "targeted" tax cuts serve bossy government's behavior modification agenda: Do what we want you to do and you can keep more of your money. Simplification would reduce the opportunities for the political class to throw its weight around. Hence the flinch from simplification.
In 1986, however, Congress did not flinch. In the past 40 years, Finance, the Senate's most important committee, has had formidable chairmen — Russell Long, Bob Dole, Bob Packwood, Lloyd Bentsen, Pat Moynihan and Baucus. And in 1986 there were additional serious reformers, including Sen. Bill Bradley and Rep. Dick Gephardt.
Of the three biggest tax preferences, unions, especially, oppose taxing as compensation — which it obviously is — employer-paid health insurance (a $260 billion benefit), and Democrats oppose ending the $80 billion deduction for state and local taxes. It encourages high government spending.
The third preference, the mortgage-interest deduction, is a $70 billion benefit that goes disproportionately to affluent homeowners. But Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, which have no mortgage-interest deduction, have homeownership rates comparable to America's. Every congressional district, however, has real estate brokers benefiting from the bankers who benefit by providing mortgages.
Baucus is proud to have been mentored by the greatest Montanan, Mike Mansfield, a Democrat who for 16 of his 24 Senate years was majority leader. Today, the main impediment to tax reform, aside from Baucus' risk-averse colleagues, is Majority Leader Harry Reid, who, Baucus insists, emphatically but implausibly, is a friend. Reid, who is as petty as Mansfield was grand, deplores partisanship but resents Democrats such as Baucus who practice bipartisanship. Reid says he did not even read the Baucus-Hatch letter, and insists tax reform "can't be revenue neutral; it can't be even close to neutral."
Each year 6.1 billion hours are spent complying with the tax code. This is equal to the work time of 3 million full-time workers, making tax compliance one of America's largest industries. Is there time for Congress to reduce this waste of time?
"It's early," says Baucus equably. Actually, it is late in this legislative year, and elections are next year. But, says Baucus serenely, 1986 was an election year in a president's second term. Baucus still hopes to bring Congress to an "all-join-hands-and-jump-together" moment, "a tipping point where there is a sense of inevitability."
Inevitably, however, the tax code has reached a critical mass of complexity that renders it almost unreformable. This illustrates the crisis of the regulatory state: Interest groups fasten themselves onto the government and immobilize it.
At the 2004 Republican convention, George W. Bush vowed to "simplify" the tax code's "complicated mess." The convention roared approval. Next, he promised new complexities — tax benefits for "opportunity zones" in depressed areas, a tax credit to encourage businesses to offer health savings accounts. Another roar of approval.
Since the 1986 simplification, the code has been re-complicated more than 15,000 times at the behest of Americans who simultaneously praise the principle of simplification. All other taxes could be abolished if we could tax the nation's cognitive dissonance.
Will is a Washington Post columnist. His email is firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Today's News: Our Take - Keck's Exclusives First Look: The Walking Dead's New Zombie App
Uh-oh! Is The Walking Dead's diabolical Governor (David Morrissey) about to go all undead on us? Not quite yet. This image is the first look at AMC's new Dead Yourself app (available at DeadYourself.com beginning January 7), which allows fans to zombify photos of themselves and others - complete with rotting teeth and flesh. And that's not all. When the show resumes on February 10, new episodes will reveal a special code that fans can use to unlock a fresh zombie part, which they can then incorporate into their ghoulish creations.
I asked two of the show's stars whom they'd like to zombify. Morrissey told me that when he first traveled to Atlanta to begin shooting, he made a stop at Graceland. "So I'd love to see an Elvis zombie," he says. "He's got the moves to shuffle down the street in his Vegas cape." But tough guy Michael Rooker, who plays Merle, surprised me by revealing he'd select Marilyn Monroe: "Even as a zombie, she'd be hot. I'd have to keep her on a chain."
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!
View original Keck's Exclusives First Look: The Walking Dead's New Zombie App at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


text:
Thanks George.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged animals, whimsey |
Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:
You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.
( Log Out /
Change )
You are commenting using your Facebook account.
( Log Out /
Change )
Connecting to %s
Notify me of new comments via email.
Notify me of new posts via email.
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Sometimesthings that suddenly seem normal tell you how the world has changed.
Me will live life in the moment unless it is unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie – Cookie Monster
I believe in equality. Equality for everybody. No matter how stupid they are or how superior I am to them. – Steve Martin
On life's road, it's not where you go but who's by your side that makes the difference.
Gun control is not about guns, it's about control.
Attention deficit, oh pretty!
If you love someone tell them now. Eternity is time enough for silence.
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Email Address:
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).


text:
So what's the one complaint most often levied against the Ford Mustang? How about the lack of Independent Rear Suspension? Guess what? The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe has it. Here's the rest of the details — 212 HP 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a range-topping all-aluminum 306 HP DOHC 3.8-liter V6 engine. It'll be available starting in the spring of 2009. We'll have many more details shortly and our full gallery of the event in a moment — but yes, it's just been revealed.
NEW YORK, March 19, 2008 - Hyundai unveiled Genesis Coupe, a new benchmark for affordable 300-horsepower sports coupes, during a press conference at the New York International Auto Show today. The 2010 Genesis Coupe is a purpose-built rear-wheel drive sports coupe featuring two performance-focused engines - a 212-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a range-topping all-aluminum 306-horsepower, DOHC 3.8-liter V6 engine. Genesis Coupe is scheduled to join the Hyundai lineup in the spring of 2009.
Following the introduction earlier this year of the rear-wheel drive Genesis sports sedan, Genesis Coupe is Hyundai's most dynamic performance car ever and the second consecutive all-new model introduction from Hyundai appealing directly to the car enthusiast. Genesis Coupe uses the same flexible rear-wheel drive architecture that was originally developed for the Genesis sports sedan.
Genesis Coupe employs a MacPherson strut dual-link front suspension and a five-link rear suspension setup. Both engines are mated to a standard six-speed manual transmission. The Genesis Coupe 2.0t (2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo) offers an optional five-speed automatic with SHIFTRONIC® while the 3.8-liter V6 offers a ZF six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC to handle the additional torque.
"We think our entry-level Genesis Coupe 2.0t, with its unique combination of rear-wheel drive and four-cylinder turbo power, offers an intriguing alternative to existing front-wheel drive sports coupes," said John Krafcik, vice president, product development and strategic planning, Hyundai Motor America. "The 3.8-liter version of Genesis Coupe takes things to an even higher level, rivaling the capability of premium-performance coupes like Infiniti G37."
Genesis Coupe was shown as a concept at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show and its transformation from concept to production reveals that its signature design features have emerged intact. Genesis Coupe is also unmistakably linked to several Hyundai concept cars. The powerful curves, surface detail, and "Z" bodyside lines come straight from the HCD9 Talus and the HCD8 sports coupe. Genesis Coupe's arching roofline and tapering greenhouse highlight the exterior profile and emphasize the car's broad shoulders and wide stance. Genesis Coupe rides on standard 18-inch alloy wheels or optional 19-inch wheels, both delivering a bold stance and aggressive handling.
In keeping with its mission to be the most exciting, affordable sports coupe on the road, the Genesis Coupe boasts a cockpit designed to enhance the driving experience. An information display screen, features an outside temperature reading, audio system information and HVAC settings. Analog gauges include a large speedometer and tachometer positioned so the driver can immediately access critical driving information. The instrument cluster features Hyundai's signature blue gauge illumination.
Music lovers will welcome the inclusion of standard auxiliary input jacks (3.5 mm mini-jack and USB input) to accommodate and charge audio devices such as iPods®. Among the other refinements are an Infinity audio system, sport bucket seats and two-stage front seat warmers. Genesis Coupe also offers the convenience of a proximity key and push button starter.
The 2010 Genesis Coupe includes a wide range of both active and passive safety features. Standard safety equipment includes driver and front passenger advanced frontal airbags, along with front seat-mounted side airbags, side air curtains, active front head restraints, four-channel ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), one of the industry's most effective life-saving technologies.
• Configuration: Front engine, rear-wheel drive
• Wheelbase: 2820 mm / 111.0 inches
• Overall length: 4630 mm / 182.3 inches
• Overall width: 1865 mm / 73.4 inches
• Overall height: 1380 mm / 54.3 inches
• Wheels: 18-inch or 19-inch five-spoke
• Engine types: 3.8-liter V6 or 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo
• Est. horsepower V6: 306 @ 6,000 rpm (regular fuel)
• Est. horsepower V6: 310 @ 6,000 rpm (premium fuel)
• Est. torque V6: 263 lb. ft. @ 4,700 rpm (regular and premium fuel)
• Est. horsepower 2.0t: 212 @ 6,000 rpm (regular fuel)
• Est. horsepower 2.0t: 223 @ 6,000 rpm (premium fuel)
• Est. torque 2.0t: 217 lb. ft. @ 2,500 rpm (regular and premium fuel)
• Block & head materials: aluminum for both engines
• Valvetrain: DOHC for both engines
• Valve timing: continuously variable valve timing for both engines (Dual for 2.0t)
• Estimated 0-60 mph V6: under 6 seconds
• Transmission types: 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic (4-cylinder) or 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic (V6)
• Front brakes: 12.6-inch (standard) 13.4-inch (Brembo package)
• Rear brakes: 12.4-inch (standard) 13.0-inch (Brembo package)
• Front calipers: single piston floating (standard), monobloc four-piston (Brembo package)
• Rear calipers: single piston floating (standard) monobloc four-piston (Brembo package)
• Limited slip differential (Optional)
• Est. top speed: 149 mph (V6), 137 mph (2.0t)
• Base curb weight: 3549 lbs. (V6); 3439 lbs. (4-cylinder)


text:
On 12/12/2011 at the Winter Garden Atrium, a "public" space inside the World Financial Center along West St. in Downtown New York; Occupy Wall Street Demonstrators enjoyed a day of action in solidarity with the shutting down of West Coast Ports. The merry-makers danced in a circle in the winter garden, as they danced arm-in-arm they chanted, "All Day! All Week! Occupy Wall Street" and "Occupy! Shut it down! New York is a People's Town!" Demonstrators banged drums and waved umbrellas overhead as they celebrated their free human spirits. And true to form, the NYPD just couldn't bear to see such a wonderful band of merry makers and came to shut them down with violent force.
Part 2: Show's the wrath of NYPD… Watch as peaceful demonstrators are arrested and forced out of their demonstration. NYPD and Homeland Security were behind the forceful end of this demonstration. It's appalling to think that in the United States of America in 2011 such force is used against people demonstrating their given right of FREE SPEECH. A demonstrator overheard one officer announce to another, "It's time to chain 'em up!" And an African-American Officer called an African-American demonstrator a "nigger". Meanwhile, the United States of America is enforcing wars across the globe.
So tell me? Who's the bull(y)?
The next day, 12/13/2011, a group of us (extremely elated by the daring and beautiful shut down of West Coast Ports) met for a day of action to honor our West Coast family. The NYPD were pissed to see us in our streets again. We went to Wall Street – Our Street and engaged in a day of "practice"… we chanted "this is just practice" as we marched onto Wall St – Our St to hold a G.A. and "practice" demonstrating. We danced up and down Wall St – Our St and we sung songs of protest and we threw up up-sparkles and we giggled and we ran full speed at barricades stopping just before we collided into the metal we've grown so familiar with, we chanted "GET THOSE ANIMALS OFF THOSE HORSES" at the cops on horseback and we basked in the radiate glow of one another… it was fun!
Photo is of us holding a moment of silence on behalf of all those that have suffered police brutality.
We played "Red Rover" on Wall St – Our St as it's an American classic and demonstrates the power of locking arms, an important tactic demonstrators often use when engaged with police brutality.
After awhile on Wall St – Our St we decided to go to 1 Police Plaza to welcome our family members that had been arrested at the previous days action. As we hit Broadway, the cops showed up on motorcyles… At every march I've been on, I've been hit by police officers on motorcycles. I don't know who raised these jerks, but NYPD motorcycle cops believe it's okay to hit people with their motorcycles…
As they chased us up Broadway our group began to run… and we ran faster and faster…
The cops chased us into City Hall Park… They followed us on their motorcycles as we ran into City Hall Park…. Please keep in mind, we are a group of twenty people that were walking up the street. The only thing that separates us from anyone else is that we've been targeted because we are loud about our politics. Besides being a bit noisy, we were doing nothing illegal. The park was full of unaware bystanders. NYPD is extremely lucky they didn't sideswipe a kid… I watched in shock as they sped through the park….
And was even more dumbfounded when they sped out of the park and up the sidewalk… an old man shouted, "Are there terrorists? I just see kids! What in the hell are they doing?!"
Eventually the cops jumped off bikes and tackled two demonstrators. Both were beat up pretty badly. They threw them to the ground and punched them, slammed them into the concrete.
Other officers created a "human wall" in an attempt to block press and all photographs of their brutality. The use of a "human wall" is becoming an increasingly common tactic. Expect to see it whenever NYPD is enacting police brutality. It's so people cant take photos. These aren't police officers these are abusive thugs that must be dis-empowered
As the violence winds down, the demonstrators scattered… Five police vans, a group of police cars, and an army of officers came seemingly out of nowhere and scour the streets, seemingly searching for specific members of the group of demonstrators. Notice the zip-ties officers wear on their belts. It's so they can quickly and more-often-than-not very painfully arrest demonstrators.
This is a photo of one of the two people that were jumped by NYPD. The other demonstrator was arrested. She wasn't arrested. But she received a concussion.


text:
As appliances and household entertainment systems go online, living rooms are getting smarter. To tap into the connected home, companies are augmenting the experience of watching TV. Flingo, a smart TV apps publisher, is using iPads to help connect the TV viewer to content viewed on their TV.
While at CES, I spoke to Ashwin Navin, co-founder of Flingo about their latest product launch called Samba. The technology surfaces relevant information to TV shows such as related shows or details on actors. We also walked over to Haier's booth to see how Samba is implemented with their line of TVs.
Watch our interview here:


text:
A novelist recalls her self-diagnosed "addiction" to changes of address
Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House. By Meghan Daum. Knopf, 256 pp., $24.
By Janice Harayda
Meghan Daum looks back on years of binging and purging on housing in this memoir of a condition that sounds like the real-estate equivalent of bulimia. Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House follows the standard format of addiction-and-recovery narratives:
Describe the problem. Daum switched dorms every semester after her first year of college and lived in 18 temporary residences in 15 years before buying a small house in Los Angeles. When you're as restless as she is, she says, "the real estate section of the newspaper is a form of pornography."
Acknowledge your shame. "I'm not proud of any of this," Daum says, after describing how she reneged on an impulsive offer to buy a Nebraska farm. About kicking out a New York roommate, she writes, "That story is shameful."
Link your behavior to childhood experiences. Daum says that if her family had "anything close to a regular weekend activity" when she was growing up in New Jersey, it was attending open houses, a pursuit rooted in her mother's frustrated wish to live in the kind of place "a person who read The New Yorker" would inhabit.
Put your story in a social context, so people will see its wider relevance. "At the risk of making a perverse and offensive comparison, I don't think I'd observed so much absorption with one topic since the attacks of September 11, 2001," Daum writes of the interest in real-estate in California in 2004.
Add a happy ending. In this case, it wears pants.
At times Daum shows the vanity-masquerading-as-humility often found in recovery narratives. She can be a snob. In Venice, California, she sublet a cottage full of "awful furniture" from a single woman in her 20s and congratulates herself on her superior taste. Her own furnishings might reside in storage units: "But at least I did not own a media cabinet the size of a truck."
This snobbism appears to stem not from strong political or other principles such as environmentalism or anti-consumerism — on the evidence of this book, she's a raging consumerist — but from insecurity, the sense that her self-worth depended on presenting a certain appearance, that she never fully explains. It is certainly true that in our culture, people often judge by appearances. But Daum never comes to grips with the forces behind that impulse that may have motivated her chronic dissatisfaction with here she lived. If her mother yearned for a certain kind of home, the same cultural traits may explain both her behavior and her mother's. In some ways Daniel McGinn does a much better job of explaining the compulsion to seek new property in his House Lust.
Daum has called Joan Didion a literary influence, and her distaste for the media cabinet in her Venice sublet echoes faintly an essay in which Didion wrote of the Reagan-built governor's mansion in Sacramento: "it is the kind of house that has a wet bar in the living room." The difference is that Didion's comment served a larger theme and carried far more symbolic weight: Didion was eviscerating the shallow values of rich and influential people whose decisions affect many others. Daum faults the tastes of an anonymous woman who was caring for a mother with cancer during her sublet. She suggests that "self-loathing" explains why single women buy inexpensive furniture such as wicker chairs and collapsible bookcases when these purchases often amount instead to a modern example of Jane Austen's "single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor." And the media cabinet may have may have reflected the opposite of "self-loathing": It may have sprung from a healthy recognition by the owner that she didn't have to wait for a man to buy her an item she would enjoy.
Daum writes with flair and sometimes wit, and in her title and elsewhere, she describes an undeniable reality: Many people do fantasize that their lives "would be perfect" if they had a certain kind of house, and this may cause them to live in suspended animation. But in a book that is longer on style than substance, she doesn't begin to come to grips with the moral, spiritual or other emptiness the pattern can betoken. Nor does her memoir reflect the coherent worldview of the best work of stylists like Didion and Nora Ephron, a counterpart to Didion's ironic detachment and sense of dread or Ephron's brash feminism. At times, Daum seems to lack a sense of who she is apart from her sleek, nickel-plated ceiling fans. If her book were a house, it would be a pretty vacation cottage, built on stilts.
Best lines: No 1: The first: "Yesterday, a piece of my house came off in my hands." No. 2: "What I didn't know back then … was that it wasn't the prewar apartment I craved but, rather, an ineffable state of being I can only describe as domestic integrity." No. 3: "I have never been able to say I'm from New Jersey without feeling as if I were wearing someone else's name tag at a party."
Worst lines:No. 1: "I'd be lying if I said that these weren't arguably the most important professional years of my life." No. 2: "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that …" No. 3: "And if you'll pardon the expression … " Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House has a lot of flab like this.
Caveat lector: This review was based on an advance reading copy. Some material in the finished book may differ.
Furthermore: Daum wrote the novel The Quality of Life Report and an essay collection, My Misspent Youth. She is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
You can also follow Janice Harayda (@janiceharayda) on Twitter. She satirizes American literary culture on her FakeBookNews page on Twitter (@FakeBookNews).
© 2010 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


text:
Bruny Island Multicultural Directory
Be the first to advertise in Bruny Island Multicultural Directory!
We are developing brunyisland.tas.guide for you and early supporters can secure top of category and page one spots! If you would like to create a listing in Bruny Island for your Business or Community Group first Create an Account
Replace this Ad with your content, Your listing updates this entire page!
View an example. Consider what Category might you list in? Do we have it?
Bruny Island Multicultural Articles


text:
Thursday night's 10-9 marathon battle between the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals could best be described as a bizarre affair, and by all counts, the 4th-inning presidents race did not fail to keep up with the theme of the evening.
The presidents broke out of the centerfield gate in speed walking mode, but with Teddy Roosevelt in last place, and the slow-paced race looking like it might extend into the 5th inning, Teddy ran across the outfield grass, and bolted into a sprint.
Roosevelt's maneuver put him safely in the lead and ignited the crowd. That is, until he abruptly took a left turn into the right field wall.
Calling the race from high atop Nationals Park, P.A. announcer Jerome Hruska declared "I'm just as confused as you, folks."
As a disoriented Roosevelt stumbled toward the finish line, Thomas Jefferson caught up and stole the win.
Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome.


text:
Forum: Women's Military Veterans & First Responders Forum
This is a private forum only for WOMEN Military and Military Veterans. To get approved for access please submit the form found here. Access can take up to three days. No information posted here is available to or shared with the rest of the SMART Message Board.
Anyone interested in joining may request admittance by:
clicking here.


text:
Sorry, we can't find the page requested.
Page not found (404 error)
You've reached the Crown Prosecution Service, the Government Department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales.
These links may help you find what you're looking for:
Why was the page not found?
If you typed the page address into the Address bar on your browser, please make sure that it is spelled correctly.
A search engine or site link you followed may have been incorrect.
The page you are looking for may have moved, been renamed or removed. We avoid doing this wherever possible, to prevent these problems, but sometimes have to.
Previous versions of the CPS website are available to view at the UK Government Web Archive.
Please help us fix the problem
If the page was reached by a search engine, the search engine will (eventually) update its index and there is no need to do anything.
But if you followed a link from another site, please tell us the address of that site so we can ask them to correct it.
Or, if you think there is a problem in our website, please give us feedback with as much detail as possible.
Now, to help you find what you were looking for:
Victims and Witnesses has information for people affected by crime, to help and support them when bringing offenders to justice.
Your CPS has information about the Service and your local CPS, including consultations and procurement.
The News Centre has press release and statements, articles, fact sheets and journals, for the public and for the news media.
Publications provides information to the general public on how the CPS makes decisions, how we carry out our duties and how we spend public money, with the aim of making the CPS open and accountable.
Legal Resources provides information and guidance to prosecutors and caseworkers in relation to many criminal offences and procedural issues.
Careers at the CPS is the place to find job opportunities, and to find out what it is like working in the CPS.
Contact us has national and local contact details, Freedom of Information, Feedback and Complaint links.


text:
Attendance policy hot topic at PTHS community cafe
The second Pontiac Township High School Community Café event held in the Dr. Ronald J. Yates Memorial Library at the high school Thursday evening was made up of parents, high school staff, board members and members of the public who mostly had one topic on their mind: the attendance incentive program.
The topic started with a presentation from PTHS Assistant Principal Brian Hensley, which showed data regarding the increase in attendance over the first quarter last year. Specifically, it said 379 students missed a day or less of school in the first quarter this year and were able to exempt out of a final if their parents and teacher approved.
The issue amongst parents at the meeting was mostly voiced by Linda Lambert who said that although she appreciated the data showing more students were in school this quarter, she wanted the exemption policy to include those achieving students who had an A going into a class, but because they had missed the allotted amount of days, were exempt from the attendance incentives.
"I believe it does effect GPA, it happened last semester," said Lambert. "I know of students who had an A in a class and because they didn't get perfect attendance, they had to take a final. Other students who could have fallen into a B, C, or D grade didn't have to take the final and got a higher grade. It affects class rank and it affects GPA. I am not asking you to change your decision, but I am asking that you award the producers the same way that you award the perfect attendance."
Her suggestion was that if a student is getting an A in the class, they should also be exempt from their final exams. Her reasoning was that students who have an A in the class should be given the same opportunity as those with perfect attendance with lower grades. She didn't want to make it appear that she wasn't happy with the attendance increasing, but she said this policy produces a negative effect.
"I think you have a great point," said Hensley. "I can tell you that honestly, no one has ever approached me and there was no phone call I've received which stated that point. I have not heard the example, I have not had a student come and talk to me about that, not even colleagues or teachers. That's a great point and something that needs to be thought out. Maybe a discussion between myself and Mr. Bohm should take place in the future."
Lambert responded by saying many parents she has talked to have voiced their opinion with the attendance staff, which Bohm said probably isn't the best idea due to the fact that the job of attendance staff is to mark down when a parent calls their child in sick, not the reasoning pertaining to the illness. Bohm said he would invite parents to call him in order to discuss the policy.
"Give me a call," he said. "I haven't heard a word from parents, but we've been talking about it. The kids are talking about it, the paper is talking about it, the radio is talking about it and I look at Mrs. Graves and for years the LACC has had this same program. We modeled it right after what they have at LACC."
Superintendent Jon Kilgore added that prior to the attendance incentive program, LACC actually had to change its policy due to the fact that PTHS students would skip their classes and only attend LACC classes.
Another parent shared a story of her daughter who had missed five hours of school over three days due to doctor's appointments and felt it was odd that a child who had missed a whole day could still be exempt from a final, but a child who had missed only five hours could not.
Points and counter-points were raised for both sides of the argument before the allotted time for the subject ran out. The last thought was from Greater Livingston County Economic Development Council (GLCEDC) CEO Adam Dontz, who said after talking with many of the business owners in the county, especially those in the manufacturing industry, attendance is a big issue which he hopes would be incentive to continue the discussion on the policy at community café events in the future.
"Much to my surprise, employers have trouble keeping people working at the assembly line. They have trouble getting people to punch in at 8 a.m. They have trouble keeping people there past 5 p.m. if there is a deadline with shipments and orders that need to get out. So, I think the issue of work ethic and showing up and being where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there, it's something that is not necessarily learned after graduation, but something that start right here at school," he said. "I don't know that the plan we have is perfect or that there shouldn't be modifications. What I really encourage, is an ongoing discussion about how we can improve attendance in our schools because that will attribute to later years in life and to the workforce here in town and that is a front burner issue for our local employers, so please continue on with your discussion on this, because it's too important to just stop here."
Kilgore moderated the next topic of discussion on the safety and security in the high school. Although he talked some about modifications the school was making in order to make it easier to navigate for law enforcement with things like mirrors to help provide line of sight around corners, he also asked for thoughts and ideas on things that could be done outside the building in order to make it safer for students. One idea came from Lori Bristow, who suggested a crosswalk be place in front of Illini Avenue.
"Actually, that was a great idea," said Kilgore. "It's something that we had talked about as we've experienced students walking and on bikes coming out of the sub division. It's something we want to provide more safety for."
Overall, Kilgore said he was happy with how the event turned out. He said going into the event, he knew there would be opposing view points, but he said the topic of the attendance incentive program will be something he hopes to continue in the future because he sees changes that need to be discussed. He also said he really hopes that more parents will come and voice their opinion so that it can be addressed and acknowledged.
"We knew that we were going to be able to share some positive data and the positive results of the program, but we also knew that there are things we need to continue to work on and out of tonight, we got some new ideas for us to consider," said Kilgore. "We definitely plan to revisit the issue in the future. It was definitely a topic we will continue to discuss.


text:
Happy Birthday Mia Farrow!!!
Published by TaraRomero
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero. 1. My favorite place in the world is Atlantic City. The food, the smells, the beach - I love it all. 2. I am particularly good at crafting. Especially scrapbooking and cross-stitch. 3. I am mixed. My dad is black and my mom is white. I'm very proud of both sides of myself. 4. My favorite food is either the cheesesteak or the hoagie. Not the sub, not the grinder, the hoagie. Totally different experience. 5. I have a number of pen pals I write snail mail to. We exchange stickers and little gifts sometimes, too. I have an extensive sticker collection. 6. I just reconnected with my father after 15+ years. It's going great so far. I've missed him. 7. My brother is my best friend, hence the reason we do this together. 8. I don't have a favorite book. I like too many to have a favorite. But Paul Zindel is my favorite author. Stephen King and Jane Austen are close seconds. I know, eclectic. 9. I'm not very religious at all. I consider myself agnostic. 10. I would say that my most prized possessions are my dogs, but I don't consider them possessions. I consider them people. They are my people. View all posts by TaraRomero


text:
Apple admitted it made a mistake when its new senior VP of retail John Browett slashed staffing levels just ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. But that doesn't necessarily mean Browett won't try to turn Apple's generally well-liked network of retail stores into clones of the near-universally reviled PC World and Curry's chains that Browett managed as CEO of Dixons Retail, according to a new report from ifoAppleStore. And he could be doing it with the full blessing of Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Sources speaking to ifoAppleStore claimed that some of the staffing issues that came to light earlier this month have indeed been reversed. Employees that had been laid off (despite Browett's claim to the contrary) have been rehired. However, overtime hours are still limited, and part-time employees are still only getting the minimum number of hours—as low as 10 per week. Employees that were demoted as part of the "new staffing formula" Browett tried to implement are also not getting their former job titles back.
What's worse, though, is that workshops and training sessions for customers appear to be cut down or eliminated entirely. Spaces devoted to demonstration and training areas are reportedly being filled with shelves for additional accessories, and sales specialists are being directed to increase sales of these miscellaneous items.
Specialist performance will now be directly measured in part by how many accessories they can sell with each hardware item sold. So if you walk in to buy a MacBook Air, the new metrics would encourage sales people to push you to buy cases, hard drives, AirPort base stations, and more. Furthermore, specialists are also reportedly directed to have customers use the iPhone-based EasyPay, though sales through EasyPay don't count toward an employee's metrics—a Catch-22 if I ever heard one.
To top it all off, even seemingly integral features of the Apple retail experience, such as the stores' generally immaculate cleanliness, may suffer. Store maintenance budgets have been cut, according ifoAppleStore's sources, which could lead to a "grimy and less attractive" store appearance.
When less isn't more
If dirty stores filled with pushy sales people and no added customer service sounds bad to you, I have to agree. If it sounds familiar to you, however, you have probably stepped into one of Dixons' Retail chains in the UK. Ars has received endless first-hand reports from readers in the UK that Dixons stores—in particular the PC World and Curry's chains—have "the epitome of appalling service," and are the "absolute antithesis" of the Apple Store.
"The sales staff jump on you straight away, even if you are just looking, and are very pushy," reader Arron Claydon told Ars in January. "Once you have checked the stock with them, they then try to sell you all of the other rubbish like extended warranties, cases, and even cloud storage. After you have refused this they then just pass you to the till and move on to the next customer."
"If you want a dingy shop full of distracting always-on demonstration units, staffed by surly ignoramuses who only want to sell you an extended warranty, then Dixons is the place to go," Phillip Storry, a systems administrator from London, told Ars. "Which probably explains why Dixons has been having real troubles of late—consumers are now wise to them and shop elsewhere."
(This is just a sampling of the hundreds of comments, e-mails, and tweets expressing similar sentiments Ars has received since Browett was hired in January.)
Long-time Apple customers may be scratching their heads and wondering why Cook chose Browett to take over for former retail chief Ron Johnson, especially given the appalling reputation of Dixons stores under his leadership. Sources for ifoAppleStore believe the answer lies in Cook's focus as an "operations guy." Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs let his design team come up with great ideas, while Cook's job was to make them profitable by focusing relentlessly on the bottom line. Cook seems to be taking the same approach to retail, with a focus on "revenue and profits, not customers."
Johnson, according to some accounts, championed customer experience over profits for Apple's retail stores, and had convinced Jobs that was the right strategy. And given the history of the last decade, I tend to agree: Apple Stores are often considered a gold standard for design and customer service, and generate more revenue per square foot than even high-end stores like Tiffany's, Coach, and Ralph Lauren. (Apple Stores generate $5,626 per square foot, 17 times more than the $341 average for mall stores.)
Despite performing better than most other retail chains, however, Apple's profit margin on retail sales is only about 22 percent. And sales numbers are still dwarfed by online sales and other channels. Cook and Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer had apparently tried to push Johnson to change that strategy over the last few years, which may have ultimately led to his decision to leave Apple after Jobs' passing last year.
For what it's worth, we don't know for sure if Cook actually wants Apple's retail stores to focus more on profits and less on customer service. "Our retail stores are all about customer service, and John shares that commitment like no one else we've met," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement when Apple announced Browett's appointment as head of retail. But Browett's history at Dixon's suggests otherwise, as do the reported changes being implemented. (Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this topic.)
Given my own experience with the perennially over-crowded stores here in Chicago, I'd argue that increasing staffing and services would be more effective—though admittedly, profit margins might suffer. And while Apple Stores may not contribute as much to the bottom line as Cook might like, the reputation and goodwill they engender are probably worth far more than a few points on a P&L sheet at the end of every quarter.


text:
When you hear the word yoga, do you think of a person with his legs twisted up like a pretzel? If so, it may seem like yoga is very complicated or just for adults. Not true!
Kids and teens can do yoga for the same reasons grown-ups do: because it feels good to stretch out your body, slow down your breathing, and relax your mind. Yoga can help you feel calmer when life is busy and stressful. Aaahh…
Anytime you start a new exercise routine, it's a good idea to check with a parent. A yoga class can be a great way to get started because the instructor can teach you how to get into the poses.
Find a large-enough space with few distractions. No TV or people, if possible. Wear comfortable workout clothes and no shoes or socks. A yoga mat can be helpful because it cushions a bit and keeps your feet from slipping. Yoga should not hurt, so go slow and ease into position. Go only as far as you comfortably can.
When you get stressed or nervous, many things can help you feel better. Talking with someone — a parent, friend, or school counselor — is a great idea because they can help you figure out what's wrong and start coming up with solutions.
In addition, you can ease stress through exercise. You probably know exercise is good for your health, but it's also a proven way to put you in a better mood. So it makes sense that yoga is a favorite activity among people who want to feel stronger and more relaxed.
Yoga includes a lot of stretching, but that's not all. Yoga also focuses on breathing and meditation, which means thinking calm thoughts. Practicing yoga is a chance to learn stretching/breathing/thinking skills that you can use to calm yourself down the next time you feel worried or overwhelmed. In other words, yoga can help your body stay loose and relaxed when things heat up!
Meditation is part of a stress-relieving yoga practice. Meditation means being calm, quiet, and focused. Some people call this "feeling centered." When you are feeling centered, you can do your best in stressful situations such as taking a test or working through a disagreement with a friend.
Try these meditation exercises:
If you meditate for just 5 minutes a day, it will help you feel good even when you're not meditating. The more you do it, the more it becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth or lacing up your cleats before a soccer game.
On one hand, you already know how to breathe. You're doing it right now! But learning how to breathe in yoga practice can help you notice how your breathing changes when you're anxious or upset. Often, when you start to feel nervous or uncomfortable, your breathing may get faster and you might not breathe as deeply. Once you tune in to your breath, you can try belly breathing.
There are many different yoga poses. Some can help you stretch the neck, shoulders and back, which are most likely to get tense when you are nervous or stressed.
Try these two yoga poses when you want to de-stress yourself:
Yoga can help you in serious ways, but it also can be a lot of fun. You can smile during yoga, and even laugh, which is a great stress reliever too. Yoga can be done alone or with friends. And you can do it at home, at a yoga studio, or in the park.
We'll end with a special Sanskrit greeting — namaste (say: NAH-mus-tay). It's traditionally said at the end of a yoga practice and it means the light inside of me bows to the light inside of you. Namaste.
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2018


text:
Solve one family history mystery, and another dozen spring up to take its place.
Last week we had a breakthrough with Val's Morton ancestors, described in the previous post. Val's great-great grandmother, Mary Nevard Morton, married August Decker of the British German Legion at St Botolph's, Colchester in Essex on 31 October 1856. We've known that for more than 30 years. But now it appears that two of Mary's sisters may also have married German legionnaires, possibly on the same day, and we have ordered their marriage certificates just to make sure.
According to the FreeBMD Index, Emma Morton married George Casdorff:
Surname First name(s) District Vol Page
Marriages Dec 1856 (>99%)
Casdorff George David Julius Colchester 4a 443
Decker August Colchester 4a 443
Morton Emma Colchester 4a 443
Morton Mary _e_and Colchester 4a 443
Rodwell Emma Colchester 4a 443
and Emma Morton alias Rodwell married George David Julius Casdorff. They sailed to the Easten Cape on the Stamboul, and disembarked at Eastlondon on 2 February 1857. According to the German Settlers Database George Kasdorf purchased his discharge on 16 February 1860.
Having finally found the Morton family in the 1851 census we know Mary had a sister Emma, and when August and Mary Decker had their first and only son Edwin baptised at King William's Town in 1861, the godparents were George and Emma Castorff.
But that seems to be the last sign of George and Emma in South Africa. Searching for Castorff or Casdorff (and Kasdorff and Kastorff) in the South African archives index NAAIRS draws a blank, and they should have appeared there if they died in South Africa. There are a few references to Kasdorf, but none appear to be related. So they must have emigrated again, as many of the German military settlers did. Any reports of sightings anywhere will be gratefully received.
Filed under: family history, genealogical research, genealogy, German military settlers | Tagged: British German Legion, British Kaffraria, Casdorff family, Castorff family, Colchester, Eastern Cape, Emma Castorff, Essex, family history, genealogy, George Castorff, German military settlers, Morten family, Morton family, South Africa |


text:
You could earn more per hour as a migrant grape-picker than you can by reviewing for many newspapers, and the odds are that an editor will ask you to write about a bad book and that the author will hate you afterward. So why volunteer for the work?
One of the best answers I've heard came from the novelist and critic Rebecca West in a Paris Review interview, collected in Writers at Work: Sixth Series (Viking, 1984) and in Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews (Modern Library, 1998). Marina Warner asked West if she enjoyed reviewing for the Sunday Telegraph, then as now a leading national newspaper in Britain. West replied:
"Yes, I do. I do. I would feel awfully cut off if I didn't review; I think it's such a good discipline. It makes you really open your mind to a book. Probably you wouldn't, if you just read it."
Many critics like the serendipity or reviewing, or getting assigned books they wouldn't otherwise have picked up, and I do, too. But I also like having to focus on books in a way that I don't usually do when I'm reading for pleasure. You have to look harder at books when you're reviewing them – you can never skim, ever — and when you do, you see more.


text:
Gators up to No. 4
Florida made a big move in this week's Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Gators moved up four spots to No. 4 in this week's AP Top 25, behind just Michigan, Kansas and Indiana. Florida also received one first-place vote, from Ron Morris of "The State" in Columbia, S.C.
It's UF's highest ranking since being ranked No. 3 on March 12, the last poll of the 2007 season. Florida (16-2, 6-0 SEC) takes an eight-game winning streak into its matchup Wednesday at the O'Connell Center against South Carolina.
Florida coach Billy Donovan compared the potential increased national attention to driving a car on a country road and all of a sudden seeing city lights.
"All of a sudden, you get into the city and all of a sudden there's a bunch of sights and sounds and things you start looking at," Donovan said. "You're not paying attention to what's in front of you. You drive the car right off the road into a pole.
"Our guys have got to understand that the chatter and stuff around them is on the peripheral. It's got nothing to do with us preparing to get ready for the next game. I think that any good team or any team that moves up in the rankings, you have to deal with that."
The Gators have outscored their first six SEC opponents by an average margin of 26.5 points per game.
"It's nice to be recognized for the hard work we've been putting in," Florida junior center Patric Young said. "It lets us know that we're doing the right thing so far, that we need to keep improving. Hopefully — no championships been won in January or February, so hopefully we can keep this thing going and have a one seed going into the tournament, but that's down the road and later on. We're going to worry about this game coming Wednesday."
Also, Donovan ruled out junior forward Casey Prather (high ankle sprain) for the South Carolina game. Prather did some running and cutting before the Mississippi State game, but has not been cleared for full contact.
Donovan said he would like to see Prather take part in a few full-contact practices before he returns to game action.
"Even if he was cleared to play on Wednesday, I'm not so sure it would be helpful to him because he's been out so long and he's been away from contact and playing," Donovan said. "I think he's going to need to get some of that stuff back before we can start putting him in the game."
Note: Tickets are available for UF's home games Wednesday vs. USC and Saturday against No. 16 Ole Miss. … The Gators were also ranked No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches poll.


text:
NBC to air Hillary Clinton miniseries
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — A Hillary Rodham Clinton miniseries timed to precede the 2016 presidential election is part of NBC's effort to create "event" programming that will draw viewers to the shrinking world of broadcast network TV, NBC's programming chief said Saturday.
"We need to be in the event business. I think you're going to hear that from every broadcast network," said Bob Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment chairman.
The four-hour miniseries "Hillary," starring Diane Lane as the former first lady and secretary of state, is one such bid for distinctive programming, he said.
The goal is to woo viewers who are increasingly drawn away by cable TV's eye-catching, critically acclaimed fare like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" and other media choices.
Broadcasting's audience is shrinking by 4 percent to 7 percent annually, Greenblatt told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.
"Anything that can shake up the landscape and say, 'we have something special'" would be considered part of the varied group of event projects, he said.
At NBC, that ranges from the new fall game show "Million Second Quiz" to big-ticket scripted fare including "Hillary" and other projects announced Saturday: "Rosemary's Baby" a four-hour version of the Ira Levin novel that was adapted as a 1968 movie; an adaptation of "Stephen King's Tommyknockers," and "Plymouth," about the Pilgrim's journey and settlement in America.
A six-hour miniseries about Cleopatra is in development, Greenblatt said.
Although Clinton hasn't announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination for president, Greenblatt spoke as if her candidacy is expected. "Hillary" could air before Clinton announces her decision, but the timing has yet to be determined, Greenblatt said.
He didn't address how such a miniseries, which will track Clinton's life and career from 1998 to the present, might affect the presidential contest.
The part of former President Bill Clinton has yet to be cast. Lane's credits include the feature films "Unfaithful" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" and the TV movie "Cinema Verite."
Other networks seeking to stem audience erosion are jumping on the event bandwagon, especially in light of the success of another King adaptation, CBS' summer series "Under the Dome." Announced plans include a Fox's remake of the "Shogun" miniseries based on James Clavell's novel.
Greenblatt argued that NBC, which finished the last September-to-May season in fourth place in total viewers, is in better shape when the entire year is taken into account, especially among advertiser-favored young adult viewers.
He credited the popular talent contests "The Voice" and "America's Got Talent," as well as dramas "Grimm" and "Hannibal."
NBC has high hopes for the fall sitcom that brings Michael J. Fox back to TV but is prepared for a big tune-in for the debut episode that might not be sustainable, Greenblatt said.


text:
Part I of this series, built around Michael Pollan's recent article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine . . . ended with the following observation and question from Pollan:
* * *
Compared with a bunch of carrots, a package of Twinkies, to take one iconic processed foodlike substance as an example, is a highly complicated, high-tech piece of manufacture, involving no fewer than 39 ingredients, many themselves elaborately manufactured, as well as the packaging and a hefty marketing budget. So how can the supermarket possibly sell a pair of these synthetic cream-filled pseudocakes for less than a bunch of roots?
* * *
This Part excerpts (immediately below) another section of Pollan's article, which examines one of the answers – not the market, but the laws and regulations that govern the market – and suggests its connection to the still-ballooning national girth.
* * *
For the answer, you need look no farther than the farm bill. This resolutely unglamorous and head-hurtingly complicated piece of legislation, which comes around roughly every five years and is about to do so again, sets the rules for the American food system — indeed, to a considerable extent, for the world's food system. Among other things, it determines which crops will be subsidized and which will not, and in the case of the carrot and the Twinkie, the farm bill as currently written offers a lot more support to the cake than to the root. Like most processed foods, the Twinkie is basically a clever arrangement of carbohydrates and fats teased out of corn, soybeans and wheat — three of the five commodity crops that the farm bill supports, to the tune of some $25 billion a year. (Rice and cotton are the others.) For the last several decades — indeed, for about as long as the American waistline has been ballooning — U.S. agricultural policy has been designed in such a way as to promote the overproduction of these five commodities, especially corn and soy.
That's because the current farm bill helps commodity farmers by cutting them a check based on how many bushels they can grow, rather than, say, by supporting prices and limiting production, as farm bills once did. The result? A food system awash in added sugars (derived from corn) and added fats (derived mainly from soy), as well as dirt-cheap meat and milk (derived from both). By comparison, the farm bill does almost nothing to support farmers growing fresh produce. A result of these policy choices is on stark display in your supermarket, where the real price of fruits and vegetables between 1985 and 2000 increased by nearly 40 percent while the real price of soft drinks (a k a liquid corn) declined by 23 percent. The reason the least healthful calories in the supermarket are the cheapest is that those are the ones the farm bill encourages farmers to grow.
A public-health researcher from Mars might legitimately wonder why a nation faced with what its surgeon general has called "an epidemic" of obesity would at the same time be in the business of subsidizing the production of high-fructose corn syrup. But such is the perversity of the farm bill: the nation's agricultural policies operate at cross-purposes with its public-health objectives. And the subsidies are only part of the problem. The farm bill helps determine what sort of food your children will have for lunch in school tomorrow. The school-lunch program began at a time when the public-health problem of America's children was undernourishment, so feeding surplus agricultural commodities to kids seemed like a win-win strategy. Today the problem is overnutrition, but a school lunch lady trying to prepare healthful fresh food is apt to get dinged by U.S.D.A. inspectors for failing to serve enough calories; if she dishes up a lunch that includes chicken nuggets and Tater Tots, however, the inspector smiles and the reimbursements flow. The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.
To speak of the farm bill's influence on the American food system does not begin to describe its full impact — on the environment, on global poverty, even on immigration.
* * *
Part III of this series will pick up there, but there is more to say about the connection of corn subsidies to the obesity epidemic. The fact that the link between our laws the harms that those laws have contributed to requires explantion is itself a function of our general failure to see situation and to focus on disposition. That is a point that several Situationist contributors have made in other work as follows:
* * *
Lobbying by corn processors has had an undoubted effect on the expansion of corn subsidies, but it is only the most obvious part of the story. When asked about whether he saw any link between the subsidy programs and obesity, Tommy Thompson answered as if the question were silly: "I really don't . . . [b]ecause the subsidy programs are things that are done through Congress, much more so than trying to come up with an overall strategy as, as fars as nutrition is concerned."
The point seems to be that because Congress did not have a disposition to contribute to the obesity epidemic, Congressional policies are not at all responsible. This dispositionism stems in part, we believe from the fact that subsidies were not "intended" to influence public health – rather, they were intended as a means of helping certain farmers – and in part because the connections to our health are situational. Farm subsidies embody especially hard-to-see situation not only because they have been around so long that they feel natural and are accepted as given, but also because understanding how they increase health problems in the United States requires dealing with a long explanation. Marching down the causal chain is hard work, and given our resistance to explanations that do not comport with our dispositionist tendencies, few regulators make the trek.


text:
Check back regularly here for Modular Garage and home improvement tips and tricks to make sure you get the most out of your next Modular Garage!
Learn what should be expected
Concerning Modular Garage in Rehoboth Beach, DE, you need to be knowledgeable to make the most effective judgments. We will not encourage you to put together ill advised judgments, because we understand what we are doing, and we ensure that you know exactly what to anticipate from the process. This is exactly why we try to make every effort to ensure that you are aware of the process and are not facing any unexpected situations. You can begin by going over your project with our customer service reps when you dial 888-445-7870. We'll respond to all of your questions and set up your first appointment. Our crew can arrive at the arranged time with the appropriate resources, and will work with you throughout the process.
Whenever you need Modular Garage in Rehoboth Beach, Wyoming, pick Smart Modular Garage
If you are considering a venture for Modular Garage in Rehoboth Beach, DE, there's lots of reasons to work with Smart Modular Garage. Our supplies are of the very best quality, our cash saving techniques are sensible and successful, and our customer satisfaction ratings are unparalleled. Our company has the expertise you need to meet all your objectives. Call 888-445-7870 when you want Modular Garage in Rehoboth Beach, and we are going to work together with you to expertly finish the project.


text:
A couple of my family's fallen Diggers, James Augustus Gavin and William Rudolph (Robert) Kunkel, were remembered in earlier posts. Today I want to focus on the service of the Australian Diggers in World War I who were descendants of the mid-19thcentury Dorfprozelten immigrants, five of whom gave their lives and another 17 served in the Australian forces and two earned bravery medals.
Although their families had arrived 60 years earlier, the generally vituperative press must have made it difficult for them on a day-to-day basis. At the time streets and towns around the country were changing their German names to British ones. I'm proud that these men's families retained their German names with minor spelling variations based on pronunciation. Their service deserves to be recognised and this summary honours some of these Dorfprozelten descendants.[i]
As far as I can tell none of their living parents and grandparents were interned but there was a requirement for them to report to the local police regularly. Interestingly George Kaufline (son of Dorfprozelten couple Vincent and Eva Kauflein) remained Mayor of Cooma during the war despite his German ancestry.
Children of John Zeller (b Brisbane 1858) and his wife Ann Nixon from Chinchilla and grandchildren of Dorfprozelten immigrants, Franz Ignaz and Catharine Zöller. With four sons away overseas John Zeller actively contributed to the war effort by supplying walking canes which he crafted himself by hand from local timbers. He also established a sandbag committee at Chinchilla explaining "as I am too old to go and fight with our boys I feel that I must do something to help those that are fighting for us."[1]
RIP: Thomas Zeller (29) enlisted 8 March 1916 in the 15th reinforcements of the 26th Battalion. He assured the enlisting officer that he was willing to sign a declaration that both his parents were born in Australia. Thomas was killed on 7 October 1917 in the prelude to the battle of Passchendaele, though his death was not confirmed until 15 April 1918. He was buried in the Tyne Cot cemetery, north-east of Ieper. There is a very evocative letter from John Zeller to the military asking for confirmation of his son's body being found and buried because "his mother is heartbroken at the thought that no one saw him dead".[2] The pathos of these letters from families desperate for any small piece of information on their loved ones is heart-tugging even at this distance in time.
RIP: George Herbert Zeller (22) enlisted on 28 June 1915 in the 3rd reinforcements of the 25th Battalion. George was killed on the Western Front on 9 April 1918. He was "very smart and a good soldier. Won his corporal stripes with his Lewis Gun in which he was highly proficient."[3] George was buried in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery extension, north-east of Amiens.
Alfred Zeller (27) enlisted with the AIF on 14 November 1916 in Toowoomba. Originally with the 19th reinforcements of the 25th Battalion, he was later attached to the Engineers.
Richard Zeller (32) enlisted on 14 November 1916 in the 12th Machine Gun Company and was later transferred to the 47th and then the 42nd Battalions.
Children of Joseph and Caroline Worland, grandchildren of Vincenz and Eva Kauflein(aka Kaufline) from Dorfprozelten.
RIP: Robert Charles Clyde Worland (20), from the Cooma/Monaro area, enlisted on 7 August 1916 and served with the 35th Battalion. He was killed in action on 10 June 1917. He is remembered on the Ieper/Ypres (Menin Gate) memorial.
RIP: Lt Edward John Worland MC (31) enlisted on 24 November 1915 and served with the 35th Battalion . He was twice recommended for the Military Cross (July and August 1918) which was awarded 1919. He was killed in action on 30 August 1918 and is buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, about 10km east of Amiens.
The youngest son and a grandson of Heinrich Volp[ii] and Anna Günzer (aka Ganzer). Anna was only a young woman of 14 when she emigrated from Dorfprozelten.
George Volp MM (son of the above, 22), enlisted in February 1917 and was with the 25th reinforcements of the 2nd Light Horse. George was recommended for the Military Medal in November 1917 and awarded it in January 1918.
Henry Ernest Volp (23) was the grandson of Heinrich and Anna and the son of their eldest son Johann Jacob. He also enlisted with the 25th reinforcements of the 2nd Light Horse in February 1917. It seems likely these two men, born in the same year, were more like brothers than uncle and nephew.
Son of Christopher Ganzer and his wife Ellen Gollogly and grandson of Dorfprozelten immigrants George Günzer (aka Ganzer) and his wife Hildegardis Hock. George Günzer was the father of Anna Günzer above, so even though he was deceased well before WWI he had at least 3 grandsons serving.
Terence Joseph Ganzer (21 ) enlisted on 17 November 1916 and served with the 24th reinforcements of the 5th Light Horse.
Grandchildren of Bavarian-born George Mathias Kunkel and his Irish-born wife, Mary O'Brien, from Murphy's Creek and sons of George Michael Kunkel and his wife Julia Gavin.
RIP: James Thomas Paterson (28) enlisted on 31 August 1915. He had previously served with the Roma Commonwealth Light Horse. Initially James was posted to the 9th reinforcements of the 25th Battalion but on arrival in Egypt he was absorbed into the 49th and later attached to the 50th. James served on the Western Front and on 5 April 1917 he was killed during an assault on a railway crossing near Noreuil. His body was never recovered and he is remembered on the Villers-Brettoneux memorial near Amiens. James left behind a wife and infant daughter.
Daniel Joseph Paterson[iii] (24) enlisted on 25 February 1917 and initially attached to the Machine Gun Company then subsequently the 31st and 41st Battalions. He served in France but was repatriated to England in mid-1918 with trench fever. He must have been quite sick as he did not return to France for over two months. According to family anecdote, Dan had a lifelong aversion to war.
Young brothers Matthew David John Kunkel (22) and Kenneth Norman Kunkel (20) had already enlisted in January and February 1917. Two of their Gavin cousins left on the same ship with them and one had already given his life at Fromelles. John's file is annotated with the comment "I have examined papers in every respect".
John and Ken's older brothers Denis Joseph Kunkel (37), my grandfather, and his brother James Edward Kunkel (26) enlisted on 22 October 1917 when the call went out for experienced railwaymen to work on the lines in western France. James Edward was subsequently rejected on the grounds of ill health, but Denis Joseph Kunkel joined the Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company in north-west France and Belgium. His service file carries a muddle of papers including those of two of his brothers. Despite a view that being in the railway unit was an easy life, it's unlikely it seemed so when the German heavy guns got a line on the trains delivering replacement armoury.
[1] Mathews, T. op cit, page 365.
[2] ibid page 26.
[3] On 2 July 1918, Boulogne, LHA Giles 25th Battalion.
[i] It's possible there may be more descendants of these families who served as it's some years since I followed them in detail. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who can add to this list.
[ii] The children of this family are on the Qld BDM indexes with the surname Folp, reflecting the German pronunciation. Anna was only a young girl when she arrived from Germany and she had many children.
[iii] It is possibly Daniel on The Queenslander's fantastic passport photos, 14 July 1917 page 26 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/2363222?zoomLevel=2


text:
Pre Diabetes Meal Planner - Recipes
Our unique healthy recipe search engine allows you to choose recipes that are best for you. Start by selecting ingredients to help manage your condition; whole grains (whole wheat flour, brown rice, whole grain pasta), colourful fruits or vegetables, low fat fortified milk products (skim or 1%,) and lean meats and alternatives such as beans or legumes. Avoid recipes with added sugars and solid fats (butter, margarine, lard).
Next use the nutrition sliders to find recipes that are low in cholesterol, fat and calories. You can adjust these to whatever your health professional suggests to optimize your diet.
Sign up to unlock personalized Pre Diabetes nutrition tools & features.Signup here. It's free!
Search from over 70,000 brand name grocery products here
We score food products from 1-100 based on your nutrition goals


text:
Hot Online: Shakira gives birth to boy
Hot video: Shakira has given birth to son Milan, her first child with boyfriend Gerard Pique.
Trending topic: Shia LaBeouf acid
Actor Shia LaBeouf told MTV that he took acid as research for a role in "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman." While at the Sundance Film Festival, LaBeouf also said he took video of himself tripping and showed it to co-star Evan Rachel Wood.
Check this out: Michelle Obama eye roll
The famous eye roll that Michelle Obama apparently gave Speaker of the House John Boehner at the inaugural luncheon was allegedly in response to Boehner joking about cigarettes. According to a lip reader, Boehner – a smoker – asked President Barack Obama – a former smoker – for a cigarette, and when Obama said no, Boehner said, "Somebody won't let you do it," referring to Michelle Obama. She wasn't pleased. Boehner's reps have denied that was what was said.
GateHouse News Service


text:
Directional Driller (Drilling Services) Gulf of Mexico, Guyana & AlaskaBaker Hughes
Houston, Texas, United States
3 + Years Experience
This position is no longer open for new applications. Either the position has expired or was removed because it was filled. However, there are thousands of other great jobs to be found on Rigzone.


text:
PNB plans anniversary celebration
Founded in 1928, Peoples State Savings Bank opened its doors on the corner of Second and Tremont streets in downtown Kewanee.
After eventually becoming a national charter and moving into its current location, Peoples National Bank of Kewanee still operates under the same ideas of tradition and great service and will now celebrate 85 years of operation on March 1, 2013. To commemorate the occasion, the bank will hold a weeklong celebration.
"Our 85th anniversary is a great milestone for PNB," said Lindsey Osborne, marketing coordinator at PNB.
"We want to celebrate the occasion with all our employees, retirees, customers and the community. Without these people, the bank would not have achieved the great success and opportunities that we have been so fortunate to have."
Since its founding, Peoples National Bank of Kewanee has grown to a total of seven locations as well as being a leader in modern banking services, including the first in the area to offer mobile banking. PNB currently operates in Kewanee, Annawan, Bradford, Manlius, Sheffield and Tampico.
In honor of PNB's 85th anniversary, customers and community members are invited for cake and punch at 10 a.m. Friday, March 1, in the downtown Kewanee lobby. The first 100 female visitors will receive a complimentary red rose.
Along with community members, current PNB employees and retirees will join in the celebration. All PNB locations, except Kewanee's Southtown drive-up facility, will offer a treat and punch on March 1.
Visitors also may enter to win daily gift certificates from March 1 through March 8. Entries will be accepted in PNB's downtown Kewanee lobby, and each day a winner will be awarded an $85 gift certificate.
The gift certificates will be different each day, and will include places like Heartfelt Gifts, Kewanee Chamber of Commerce, Breedlove's Sporting Goods, and more.
Peoples National Bank of Kewanee also will offer daily treats and punch for bank visitors from March 1 through March 8.


text:
As I write this post, the youngest person to sail around the world solo is about to cross the finish line in Sydney, Australia. The 'Ella's Pink Lady,' being sailed by 16 year old Jessica Watson is now making its way through the Sydney Heads and into Sydney Harbour. Her birthday is this Tuesday and what a fantastic 17th birthday present – just home from sailing around the world.
Waiting for Jessica at the Sydney Opera House are the Prime Minister of Australia (Kevin Rudd), the NSW Premier and many thousands and thousands of Australians, to give her a great welcome home that she will never forget.
Despite being plagued by controversy from the beginning, Jessica Watson has made it. She hit a Chinese bulk carrier on her way to the starting line and had to wait for repairs to be made to her sailing craft. Then it was a possible court challenge to prevent her from making her attempt on the grounds that she was too young and the journey too dangerous.
In recent times there have been other controversies, including that her record would not be recognized because she was both too young and had not travelled far enough into the northern hemisphere (and thereby travelled the required distance to make the record).
There has also been controversy over the name of her boat. Those who own the name for 'Pink Lady' apples, were concerned that there would be confusion because of the name 'Ella's Pink Lady' and 'Pink Lady' apples. I'm a little concerned also, for if I was near her boat I may be tempted to take a bite out of the boat, thinking it was an apple – how ridiculous!
Anyhow, Jess has just made it and is now being checked out by customs before proceeding on to the opera house.
Welcome home Jess – well done and congratulations.
For all the news from Jessica Watson, including her Blog during her amazing journey, visit her site at:


text:
According to several Russian newspapers, Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire ranked as the 51st richest person in the world according to Forbes, and owner of the Chelsea soccer club lost one of his yachts playing poker. Seeing that Abramovich already has several mega-yachts, and is currently building the world's largest private yacht, I doubt that losing one of the many boats in his armada is a major loss. Of course, his PR flaks are denying the report but if you can't count on the honesty of a Russian newspaper the world is already lost.
0 Responses to "Being a Billionaire Must be Fun"
- Leave a Comment
Leave a Reply
Follow The Slanch Report
Join 19 other subscribers
Sign Our Petition!
The Slanch Report has started an online petition asking the MLB Network to air the Dock Ellis no-hitter he threw on June 12, 1970 against the San Diego Padres. The moment was a seminal piece of baseball history and is certainly worthy of being rerun.
Please join us in this cause and sign the petition below so we can all share in this special and fantastic moment of baseball history. THANKS!
Recent Comments
|ROXY on Wizard Puts a Curse on Ro…
|alana blanchard on Alana Blanchard, Too Hot for W…
|DRUNKBASTARD on Seriously Dude, Rethink Your…
|Pere on Hot Cheerleader Gets Hurt, I…
|GARY MOSELEY on Neil Peart to Bring That Rush…
Top Posts
- We Can All Rally Around the Rally Head
- A-Rod LOVES Himself Some A-Rod
- So THAT'S What They Do When Guys Aren't Around
- Hakeem Nicks is Quick on the Draw
- Wet and Wild College Bikini Girls
- This is Why I Never Played Hockey
- Mets and Phillies Fans Remain Classy
- Youth Football Coach Attacks Assistant
- It's a Sport if You Do it Vigorously
- I'm Thankful for the Pirelli Calendar (NSFW)
Recent Posts
- So Long WordPress, It's Been Real!
- Fenway Park: Robot in Disguise
- A Titan-Sized Alien Hunter Doppelganger
- HawksFiend Shows that Fan IS Short for Fanatic
- Johnny-5 is Alive (and Can't Stick the Landing)
- 2 Minutes for Slashing (the Ref's Throat)
- John Wall Shows Off His Inner Freestyle Walker
- Beelzebub is Going for the Gold Once More
- Can You Tell These Are the JV Teams?
- Green Man is EVERYWHERE!
- Your New Year's Resolutions are Lame Next to This Guy's
- Shawn Johnson Backflips Over a Bobsled
- The Whale Returns to Connecticut!
- The Cavs Fly High Over the Hawks
- What's Going On
Alex Rodriguez Arrested Awesome Awesome Dunk Awesome Goal Awesome Hit Awesome Shot Baseball Beijing Olympics Boston Bruins Boston Celtics Boston Red Sox Boxing Brawl Brazil Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders Chicago Bulls Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Citi Field Cleveland Cavaliers Cricket Dallas Cowboys David Ortiz Denver Broncos Derek Jeter Detroit Lions Doppelgangers Douches Dustin Pedroia ESPN Fenway Park Florida Marlins Gisele Bundchen Hot Women Jose Canseco Kansas City Royals Kobe Bryant Lebron James Lingerie Football League Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Lakers Manny Ramirez Milwaukee Brewers Minka Kelly Minnesota Vikings MMA Nascar New England Patriots New Jersey Nets New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Raiders Omar Minaya Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Penguins Rugby San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Shaquille O'Neal Site News Soccer St. Louis Cardinals Steroids Surfing Tampa Bay Rays Tennessee Titans Texas Rangers Tiger Woods Tom Brady Twitter Washington Nationals Yankee Stadium